Honduras Politics News

A coalition of civil-society organizations is pressing Congress to urgently approve a comprehensive law protecting children from sexual abuse, citing alarming statistics: 57 girls suffer sexual violence daily in Honduras, yet authorities record only one report every 3.2 hours, with seven in ten cases occurring within families.

Cossette López presented her credentials to OAS Secretary General Albert Ramdin in Washington, officially assuming her role as Honduras's permanent representative to the Organization of American States.

Indigenous, Garífuna, and peasant leaders protested at the National Agrarian Institute in Tegucigalpa, demanding a halt to forced evictions under the 2026 Agro-Industrial Law and an end to criminalization of land-rights defenders, while calling for the removal of the INA director.

The Public Ministry's electoral crimes unit is gathering evidence at the headquarters of the Liberal Party and Libre regarding complaints of voting irregularities during the March 9, 2025 internal party elections, with no formal charges filed yet.

Five small political parties—Anticorrupción, ORDEN, Liberación Democrática de Honduras, Alianza Patriótica, and Vamos Honduras—petitioned Congress's Electoral Affairs Commission to restore their ability to compete in elections and gain representation on vote-counting boards.

Congress's administrative office archived a citizen petition seeking to impeach members of Congress, ruling it failed to gather the required minimum number of signatures.

A Tegucigalpa court admitted an appeal by the defense of retired General Roosevelt Hernández against a formal processing order from a September 1 hearing; his lawyers seek reversal and dismissal of charges alleging incitement to discrimination and infringement of fundamental rights related to press freedom.

Opposition leader Salvador Nasralla declared his candidacy for president of the Liberal Party's Central Executive Council, positioning the race as a stepping stone to challenge for the presidency in 2030.

A criminal court absolved former officials Mario Zelaya and Ramón Bertetty of violating their official duties in an IHSS procurement case, ruling the adjudication was approved by the board rather than a personal infraction, though both have faced multiple other convictions related to IHSS embezzlement.

Congresswoman Iroshka Elvir (Liberal Party) has requested the government reveal who hired and financed Argentine consultant Fernando Cerimedo during the 2025 election and his ties to then-candidate Nasry Asfura, citing Cerimedo's ongoing investigations in Bolivia for alleged drug trafficking and money laundering.

Congress is examining a proposal to strip political parties of the secretary and scrutineer positions at Honduras's roughly 18,000 polling stations, replacing partisan appointees with randomly selected citizens to reduce conflicts of interest during vote tallying.

An investigation found that former Libre congressman Andrés Castro directed L3.6 million (about $145,000) in Sedesol social aid to a ghost patronato and beneficiaries linked to an internal Libre faction and allied businesses, with at least L1.5 million (about $60,000) in food vouchers unaccounted for.

Congress will include a runoff in electoral reforms only if lawmakers secure a supermajority of 86 votes; the electoral commission chair said the proposal will be unified with other ballot measures for a vote expected in October.

Miskitu community members have occupied the Gracias a Dios regional education office for ten days demanding the reinstatement of director Robinson Álvarez Martínez, threatening to continue protests until authorities respond.

Honduras's Appellate Criminal Court declared inadmissible an amparo (constitutional protection) appeal by retired general Roosevelt Hernández, who faces charges of inciting discrimination and violating fundamental rights linked to military social-media posts targeting journalists; the case now moves to the Constitutional Court and a preliminary hearing is set for September 14.

Human-rights organizations asked the court to review judicial measures imposed on retired General Roosevelt Hernández, arguing he violated a ban on public statements about victims by discussing journalists in a recent television appearance.

Congress President Tomás Zambrano said lawmakers have shared an electoral-reform proposal with all legislative blocs and will now seek the National Electoral Council's opinion before proceeding, aiming to speed up vote tabulation and boost citizen confidence in elections.

Honduras's Attorney General's Office (PGR) has appealed a judge's decision to dismiss money-laundering and fraud charges against former president Juan Orlando Hernández, arguing the judge improperly excluded 58% of the prosecution's evidence and wrongly demanded direct rather than circumstantial proof in an organized-crime case.

Tegucigalpa's municipal police are conducting a major operation to remove abandoned and derelict vehicles from public spaces, giving owners 72 hours' notice before confiscation; recovery costs 3,800 lempiras (about $152) in fines and towing fees.

An investigation by El Heraldo found that Libre members of Congress directed nearly 224 million lempiras ($9 million) in social assistance—food vouchers, scholarships, and infrastructure aid—between 2023 and 2024 toward party members and their circles, while registered beneficiaries reported never receiving promised benefits.

The National Congress is prioritizing laws and decrees that benefit business sectors while sidelining anti-corruption initiatives, including a bill against nepotism in public administration and efforts to repeal a decree that restored parliamentary immunity.

UN human-rights experts have urged Honduras to immediately stop executing over 1,000 eviction orders against peasant, Indigenous, and Afro-descendant communities issued under a 2026 agroindustrial law that overrides land-reform claims and ancestral land rights.

Municipal workers reinstated by court order after layoffs in 2022–2023 remain relegated to a hallway in poor conditions at a San Pedro Sula city building, prompting human-rights groups to document the situation and urge the city to reassign them properly.

The government and the Inter-American Development Bank are analyzing 365 public procedures to eliminate redundant requirements, enable inter-agency data sharing, and move toward digital services, with a digital platform targeted for completion by year-end 2026.

The farming community of El Tulito in Choluteca faces a second eviction as a cattle company backed by police attempted to seize remaining land on September 1, following a previous eviction on August 6 that destroyed valeriana crops, prompting human-rights lawyers to demand an investigation and legal safeguards.

Congress voted to grant Tigo and Claro, Honduras's two dominant mobile carriers, a tax amnesty on telecom regulatory debts in a September 1 session, but lawmakers from the Free and Liberal parties say the reconsideration vote violated procedure and lacked the required quorum.

An assessment by academics, civil-society groups, businesses, international donors, and political actors finds that 80% consider the government's anti-corruption response ineffective, with widespread doubt that deep structural change is occurring.

An analyst warns that Honduras must clearly define its foreign policy stance on Nicaragua's authoritarian government, as US Secretary of State Rubio urges regional nations to distance themselves from Daniel Ortega's regime; Honduras's Foreign Ministry said it has no immediate plan to issue a statement.

Honduras's registry has enrolled about 100,000 children so far but must register roughly 1.5 million by December to meet its 2026 goal, expanding enrollment brigades nationwide to schools starting in September.

Garífuna organizations announced they will not attend a September 11 court hearing for five activists accused of land occupation, citing a corrupt, racially biased judicial system that favors powerful interests over Indigenous land rights.